Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / Morning Yoga for Stiffness, Energy & Connection
Transcript
- James @ Daily Flow: Hello friends. Thanks for downloading the audio version of today's 10 minute mornings practice. The YouTube video is linked in the show notes. And if you're staying with just the audio, don't worry about doing it right. Just move and breathe in a way that feels honest. That's enough. a follow or review goes a long way. And of course, you're always welcome to practice live with me on YouTube, 8 a.m. weekdays. James: Feeling stiff, tired, or even just a little disconnected this morning, well, you've come to the right place. Hello friends. Welcome to your daily flow 10 minute mornings practice. My name is James. And of course, be sure to practice till the end because we'll pull a card to set intention for the day, and you'll have a chance to hit like and subscribe on your way out. Please come to all fours. Setting up your quadruped for a little bit of cat and cow. Ten fingers spread wide. Really big external rotation of your biceps. Pull your heart forward and lengthen. Toes are tucked. Cow pose. Inhale. Exhale. Untuck the toes and round the spine. Press down in the tops of feet. Press forward through the fingertips. Inhale, lengthen. Cow. Exhale round cat. One more time in hell. Excel. Step your left foot back and give that left leg a little bit of a sew out. We're gonna have a little core activation here. So engage the left leg, keep your shoulders a little forward of your wrists, and then pick up your right knee and see if you can bring it to your nose. And then extend it straight back. Inhale. Exhale, knee to nose. Inhale, lengthen. So it's still just cat and cow. If you need to keep that left knee down, you can. So round on your exhale. And now this time step the right foot outside the right hand. Lower the left knee down. Untuck the left toes. Get long. Drop your hips. Pull your heart forward. And then take your twist. Right hand can come to the right thigh. Wrap the left shoulder blade under. Left hand is dragging the mat. Away. Maybe you bend that left knee. Reach the right hand back and hold the right foot. Whatever you've chosen to do. In that regard, make sure you're not contorting your spine just to hold your foot. And then feel that little quad stretch. Feels nice. Take a breath. Release that. Step the left foot back. Tuck the left toes, lift the left knee so you're in a high lizard. Then walk yourself to your wide-legged forward fold. Find a long spine and bow deeply. It's early days. I can feel the tightness in my own legs right now. So give yourself some time to find it. Inhale, lengthen your spine. Exhale, bow. Again, still just really cat and cow, isn't it? Inhale, pull the heart forward. Exhale, round. This time walk your hands forward to frame the right foot, release the left knee down and untuck the left toes, coming to your crescent lunge, Anjinayasana. You can interlace fingers on top of the right thigh. You can float the arms. My favorite this morning is gonna be cradling my head. Fingers interlaced, index fingers right at the top of the neck, right at that occipital ridge. Open the elbows wide. Feel the feet pressing down, lighten your torso. Take a breath. And then release all of that. Hands come to frame the right foot. Step back to a plank. Inhale. Exhale. Lower your knees, your chest and your chin. Cobra pose. Press down on the belly. Pull the heart forward. Tuck the toes, downward facing dog, and just take a second and find our first down dog here. Pedal out your heels. Shake out your head a little bit. Pull the heart back towards the thighs. And then roll yourself forward to your quadruped. Release all ⁓ release all of your knees down, or both of your knees. If you have more than two, awesome. Pull your arm forward for your cow. Round your spine for your cat. Just lengthening. See if things change as you continue to flow through. Another two rounds. Exhale. Another one round. Inhale and then exhale round the spine. One last time here. And coming back to neutral, extend the right foot back. Give it a little saw out. And then bringing your shoulders just forward of your wrist. Start to energize into those fingertips, that external bicep rotation, and then feel the right leg engaged so you can lift the left knee. Try to connect to the nose. And then extend it back. Inhale. Exhale, knee to nose. Inhale. This time set the left foot outside the left hand. Lower the right knee down, untuck the right toes. I don't know if you can see here, but I'm a look my back's a little rounded. So I want to see if I can find that sense of cow spine, that lengthening. So a little bit of a And then let the hips drop. Feel a nice stretch in the left inner thigh. And then take your twist. Left hand can come to the thigh. It can go to the ceiling. Or you can swim it back and hold that right foot. But no strain, no reaching. Just bring the foot to you. If you want to work on this at some point and you feel like the foot is too far away, you can loop a yoga strap or a towel around the top of the foot and just hold it with your hand. But ultimately, it's not that important. Take a breath and look up. And then release all of that. Tuck the right toes and lift the right knee. Find your high lizard. Pause here for just for a second. And then keep that length of your spine as you walk to your wide-legged forward fold. Long spine inhale. Bow deeply. Exhale. Lengthen inhale. Heart leads as you round. Exhale. One more time. Inhale. And exhale. Walk your hands forward to frame the left foot for your crescent lunge. Release the right knee down. Untuck the right toes. I almost always start early in practice by interlacing fingers on top of the left thigh. Only because it helps me find. my feet. And because the moment you float your arms, which I'm gonna do now, you start thinking about that. You start thinking about what your shoulders are doing. So it just keeps it a little simpler. Take your breath, inhaling. Exhale, hands come to frame that left foot. Step back to your plank. Inhaling. Exhale, knees, chest, chin. Go. facing dog. Down dog, split the right leg. Inhale. Exhale. Step the right foot between your hands. Come up to a high lunge. But out to a warrior too. Flying warrior, straighten your legs, rotate the heels to track in just a little bit. Take a goddess squat. Cactus the elbows bend the knees. Inhale, rise up, parallel feet. Exhale, wide legged forward, fold. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, hands come to frame the right foot once again. Step back, plank position. Lower halfway, chaturanga. Inhale, upper facing. Exhale downward facing dog. Step the left foot forward. Rise all the way up. High lunge. Inhale. Exhale open out. Warrior two. Flying warrior, straighten both legs, rotate those heels in. Cactus the elbows, bend the knees, goddess. Inhale, rise up, parallel feet. Wide legged forward, fold, exhale. Inhale, long spine, exhale, pivot forward, runners lunge. Inhale, float the left foot, exhale, chattaranga. Inhale, upward facing, exhale, downward facing dog. One more little bit to add on. Inhale, float the right leg. Exhale, step it forward. Inhale, high lunge. This time prayer twist. Get long. Maybe you hook the elbow outside the thigh. Maybe it's just the forearm outside the thigh. Maybe hands come to prayer, maybe not. Feel energized in the feet. Inhaling. Exhale, open out. Warrior two. Inhale, flying, warrior. Goddess squat, ground down. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, wide legged forward fold. Inhale, long spine. Exhale, runners lunge top of mat. Inhale, float the right foot. Exhale. Inhale upward. Exhale downward facing dog. Left leg high to sky. Inhale. Exhale. Step forward. High lunge. Lengthen, reach forward and then twist. Elbow outside of the thigh or forearm outside of the thigh. Look up, wring out your spine. Inhale. Exhale, warrior two, facing the opposite direction. Inhale, flying warrior, rotate those heels in. Exhale, got a squat. Inhale, rise up, parallel feet. Wide legged forward fold. Long spine. Hands frame the left foot, runners lunge, float that left foot back, take your vinyasa, skip it if you'd rather. And then go ahead and bend your knees, look forward, step or float. Maybe come straight to your seat. Or maybe step forward and have a seat. Any comfortable seat will do. Close your eyes. Observe your breath. Maybe take a moment to reflect on your day as you see it unfolding before you. What is it? That you'd like guidance about? What is it that you're hoping these cards will help you figure out? Connection. The shape is dancer. Honor and respect all life, for we are all connected. I don't remember the car, but we've definitely talked about this before. The light that is in me is the same as the light that is in you. When we say namaste, we're merely acknowledging that. Every plant, every animal, every human certainly. It's all made of the same stuff. So today, where can we find opportunity to recognize, to bow to that light that is in others, whatever their species? Let me know how it goes. The light that is in me bows to, honors, and recognizes as one the light that is in you. Namaste.